Shopsmith Forums

I am ready to put together my sanding station shop deputy. Occasionally I may replace the belt sander with my band saw. I'll be cutting down 34 inch tubes. Since I am not cutting a tube in half, do I cut them to the 26 inch or should I go a little bit longer? Would having a bit more room make set-up easier?

I do not know where you sourced 34" tubes, but how about trying them at that length first?

Thanks for the input. The 34" tubes are the cut offs from a shorty that I had. I'm tight on space in my shop. (So, who isn't?) I converted the shorty to a dedicated drill press by cutting 9 1/2" off the tubes and using full length way tubes that I had. I'd rather not go to the 34" length but try to get closer to the 26" but was wondering if 26 1/2" or 27" would make set-up easier.

Seajay,

I would do what JPG suggests and set it up first with the 34" tubes and use the tools for a while so you can determine how much more shortening can be done. I am doing just that right now and trying to decide how much needs to stay before I cut the tubes.

Below are pictures of the Shop Deputy from the Shopsmith online catalog to give you an idea of how it looks with the 26" Shop Deputy Way Tubes.

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You may also be interested in the following thread if you haven't seen it already.

viewtopic.php?t=29285

RCZ wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 1:21 pm Seajay,

I would do what JPG suggests and set it up first with the 34" tubes and use the tools for a while so you can determine how much more shortening can be done. I am doing just that right now and trying to decide how much needs to stay before I cut the tubes.

This. Start long, work your way down. Too long can be fixed. Too short not so much.